Fleitz, a Close Trump Associate, and CSIS’s Victor Cha Both See Possibility of North Korea-U.S. Summit

Fleitz: "There is a good opportunity for a North Korea–U.S. summit this fall"

"Trump's dissatisfaction with troop deployments will not negatively impact the South Korea–U.S. relationship"

Victor Cha: "Greater than 50% chance Trump will meet Kim Jong Un after the U.S.–China summit"

Fred Fleitz, Deputy Director of the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), indicated that there is a high likelihood of a North Korea–U.S. summit taking place this fall. Victor Cha, Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), also predicted that there is a "greater than 50% chance" that U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will have talks.

Fred Fleitz, Deputy Director of the American First Policy Institute (AFPI). Provided by Asan Institute for Policy Studies

On April 8, at a press conference for the "Asan Plenum 2026" held at the Grand Hyatt Seoul under the theme of "Modernizing Alliances," Deputy Director Fleitz stated, "I believe there is a good opportunity for President Trump and Chairman Kim to hold a summit this fall. I understand that there are already some moves being made toward this."

He added, "Before any dialogue between North Korea and the U.S. takes place, there will be intensive prior discussions with South Korea and Japan," and predicted, "I expect it will take the form of at least a four-party meeting." He further explained, "Officials from the Trump administration viewed the previous six-party talks in Singapore as somewhat unwise and believe that the involvement of Russia and China in such public discussions is not helpful."

Regarding North Korea's demand to be recognized as a nuclear-armed state, he referred to a strategic approach. He said, "The Trump administration may engage in dialogue with North Korea without any preconditions, but will push firmly for denuclearization."

When asked about the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises, he responded, "The exercises are necessary for deterrence." However, he added, "There have been instances in the past where exercises were suspended when North Korea made concrete moves toward cooperation, so if there are serious and productive negotiations, it could be considered."

On the recent expression of dissatisfaction by President Trump concerning NATO, Japan, and South Korea regarding the deployment of troops to the Iran war, he predicted, "This will not negatively impact the South Korea–U.S. relationship." He continued, "Although it is true that there was dissatisfaction with NATO countries not supporting the war efforts against Iran, I am not particularly concerned about it."

Deputy Director Fleitz said, "President Trump regards South Korea as a model ally," adding, "NATO and South Korea belong to different categories."

Victor Cha also stated on this day that there is a possibility of a North Korea–U.S. summit. He said, "I believe there is a greater than 50% chance that President Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in May and then meet with Chairman Kim after that." He added, "President Trump seems to have the will to make the North Korea–U.S. dialogue happen, and there will likely be a real opportunity when President Trump comes to Asia, particularly Beijing."

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